(Cover photo by Jayanta Shaw)
India (MNN) ― In advance of the April elections, Orissa's ruling Biju Janata Dal has ended the alliance with the Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party.
According to a report from church leaders in the region, they believe the violence against Christians in Orissa by Hindu rightwing activists last year is one of the reasons behind the collapse of the BJD-BJP alliance in the state.
It's a good thing for the church, says JP C with Audio Scripture Ministries. "If they are a joint alliance, whatever they do, there's no one to stand up to them. But when you have them split, they can point fingers at each other to garner votes."
A five-phase parliamentary election will be held in Orissa along with those for the Lok Sabha beginning April 16 and ending May 13.
In this relative calm, the seeds of the Gospel that were planted can take root. "It's a fertile time for the church," says JP Sundararajan. An ASM team just returned from distributing audio Scriptures among the Mundari people, some of the hardest hit during the unrest.
Sundararajan says even though the persecution was challenging, "We have noticed at Audio Scripture Ministries that if we did not have this time of persecution, we would not have seen the growth that has taken place. God continues to work powerfully in these areas."
Keep praying wisdom for the ASM team. "Just because these parties have split and there is a 'ceasefire' so to speak, the threat of violence against Christians has not gone away. There is actually more danger because if you know that there is a problem, people tend to be careful. But I think right now, they have let their guard down. Pray for their protection, because it's not over yet."
